Overview

Handshake is currently in the testnet phase. Mainnet will launch around September 1st, 2018.

Handshake is a UTXO-based blockchain protocol which manages the registration, renewal and transfer of DNS top-level domains (TLDs). Our naming protocol differs from its predecessors in that it has no concept of namespacing or subdomains at the consensus layer. Its purpose is not to replace DNS, but to replace the root zone file and the root servers.

The full node daemon, hsd, is written in Javascript and is a fork of bcoin. By running a full node, you can participate in securing the network and serving the root zone file embedded in the blockchain.

We also have an SPV client, hnsd, which is written in C. It acts as a light client to the blockchain, as well as a recursive name server. It can serve provable resource records and verify payments without having the resource requirements of a full node.

By installing and/or contributing to Handshake, you are participating in a decentralized open platform owned by the commons.